Who out of the top 2020 Draft forwards will be the best? JUH, Thilthorpe or McDonald?

Who's the best forward from the 2020 draft?

  • Jamarra Ugle-Hagan

    Votes: 25 51.0%
  • Riley Thilthorpe

    Votes: 10 20.4%
  • Logan McDonald

    Votes: 14 28.6%

  • Total voters
    49

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Cleric

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 14, 2011
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16,714
Adelaide
AFL Club
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There were three quality forwards drafted in the top 5 of 2020 draft, namely JUH, Thillthorpe and McDonald.
We have seen a bit of all three of them now, so who do you think is going to be the best? Will any be a bust?
 

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Biased, but JUH.

Rarer skillset than the other two, his speed on the lead his absolutely insane. Gaining confidence in his contested marking and was looking dominant in this respect on Saturday, as well as the last couple of weeks. I'm confident the goalkicking will come, he seemed fairly reliable the last couple of years.

Having said that, I reckon TT and McDonald are going to be pretty good forwards too. They've all shown pretty good glimpses and have taken over games this year.
 
Biased, but JUH.

Rarer skillset than the other two, his speed on the lead his absolutely insane. Gaining confidence in his contested marking and was looking dominant in this respect on Saturday, as well as the last couple of weeks. I'm confident the goalkicking will come, he seemed fairly reliable the last couple of years.

Having said that, I reckon TT and McDonald are going to be pretty good forwards too. They've all shown pretty good glimpses and have taken over games this year.
Is that skill set rarer than Noah Balta’s? Asking for a friend
 
Early days.
None of the three are a bust though I was a bit worried about JUH for a while.
All three operating in different systems too.
Ask the same question at the end of 2024 and even then I doubt we'll get a definitive answer.
For RT Tex will have retired so he'll be working with Fogarty.
Big question for JUH is will Naughton still be there? They're a bit similar and might be taking goals off each other.
McDonald is likely to be the #1 at the Swans.
The best result for the game is all three doing well and that's my tip.
 
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JUH has the most explosive factor, Thilthorpe the best pack/contested mark and Logan McDonald the best/most reliable set shot kick at goal of the lot..

So to answer the OP's question, I don't know.

At a push, I would have McDonald slightly ahead of JUH then Thilthorpe but it's not locked in/set in stone.
 
McDonald and JUH both have star power written over their careers
JUH has more pizazz and to his style of play and will be making highlight reels for years to come
Logan McDonald has a nice kicking action and high accuracy and I'd bet on him kicking more goals through his career than JUH.
Both JUH and Mcdonald have high score involvements and the scoring stats will be on upward trajectory as both players become the main focus up froward.
Different players, hard to separate for now
 
That was a very strong top 10 for talls, it also included Grainger-Baras and Nic Cox in the top 10 too.

JUH is the flavour of the month particularly after his game on the weekend, but I feel with KPFs still in only their 3rd season, it's too early to tell which ones (it could be all of them or none of them) really break out to become those dominant long term 600+ goal career forwards. I'm talking your Franklin, Riewoldt(s), Hawkins, Josh Kennedy, Cameron type hall of fame forwards.

I mean if I compare their careers to date,

Games / Goals

JUH 37/45
RT 38/41
LM 35/46

There is barely anything in that, it's one good game or two from any of them that seperates that.

Of course, BF has recency bias, but ask again every 6 months and you'll get a different answer.
 

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DGB got switched to the forward line for a week in the VFL.

Kicked 4 goals 2. I wonder if it's a permanent thing or just trying something different to add some more strings to his developing bow.

I like Thilthorpe. Think he's going to be hard to stop when he fills out.
 
That was a very strong top 10 for talls, it also included Grainger-Baras and Nic Cox in the top 10 too.

JUH is the flavour of the month particularly after his game on the weekend, but I feel with KPFs still in only their 3rd season, it's too early to tell which ones (it could be all of them or none of them) really break out to become those dominant long term 600+ goal career forwards. I'm talking your Franklin, Riewoldt(s), Hawkins, Josh Kennedy, Cameron type hall of fame forwards.

I mean if I compare their careers to date,

Games / Goals

JUH 37/45
RT 38/41
LM 35/46

There is barely anything in that, it's one good game or two from any of them that seperates that.

Of course, BF has recency bias, but ask again every 6 months and you'll get a different answer.
To that point, RT has spent alot of his onground time rucking. No doubt if he was left in the forward line he would have a number more goals than he does.
All three should have great careers. I think that the thing about RT us the freaky things he can do, no other player his size can do.
He is an excellent contested mark. He is a great set shot at goal, and his ability to kick a freak, small forward type goal is pretty impressive.
 
DGB got switched to the forward line for a week in the VFL.

Kicked 4 goals 2. I wonder if it's a permanent thing or just trying something different to add some more strings to his developing bow.

I like Thilthorpe. Think he's going to be hard to stop when he fills out.
The fact he’s playing reserves footy halfway through his 3rd season trialing him in a different position while you’re sitting bottom 4 is pretty concerning
 
Not going to comment on how the other two are progressing but I am very happy with McDonald's development as he is showing consistent improvement every season and is getting close to being able to be the main target at the Swans. Just needs to stop getting random injuries.
 
The fact he’s playing reserves footy halfway through his 3rd season trialing him in a different position while you’re sitting bottom 4 is pretty concerning

I'm not that concerned. Whilst I'd like Denver to be playing seniors, I trust the coaching staff rationale that for such a young side we need as many experienced players in our side as possible and Frost is (unfortunately) one of them. Happy for Denver to ply his craft in the 2s and learn to lead the backline as the #1 guy rather than playing a periphery role in the seniors. For a kid who was a lot less physically developed than the aforementioned, he was always going to be a slower burn.

Not sure if the forward line is going to permanent for Denver but I liked what I saw. Played a bit of forward as a junior too. We've seen success of throwing natural forwards back with Sicily and Hardwick. Maybe it's time for the reverse?
 
Also I remember the 2020 draft was considered a huge unknown due to Covid but I genuinely think the 2020 draft is going to turn out to be one of the best drafts since the 2001 Super Draft. The amount of players who I think will become quality players is really high, much higher than almost anyone was expecting.
 
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